**4. Cutting edge lines from R&D ongoing projects developed by the wine sector**

The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes (FPs), are funding programmes established by European Commission to support and promote research in the European Research Area (ERA). Since 1984, European Community research and technological development activities have been defined, implemented and founded by a series of multiannual FPs (**Figure 1**) 13, getting close to €100 billion for the new Horizon Europe (2021–2027) and the Euratom Research and Training Programme.

Soil degradation is a global problem, often caused by several factors: unsustainable management and agricultural overexploitation practices, climate change, pollution, and deforestation. Soil degradation may intensify the impacts of natural disasters and contributes to social issues, (e.g. depopulation or migrations). The EU suffers from different levels of land degradation, and thirteen EU Member States have declared themselves as affected Parties under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The EU itself is one of the signatory members since 1998. Unfortunately, recently published studies and expert's opinions, released by the European Environment Agency's 2020 State of the Environment Report, the Special IPCC report on Climate Change and Land and the IPBES Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration demonstrated that during the last years soils have been degraded dramatically at European and global level. In response, in May 2021 the EU announced a new Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. It adopts a comprehensive, ambitious, long-term plan for protecting nature and reversing the degradation of ecosystems, including a whole section dedicated to the soil.

It is expected that this new strategy will deliver a powerful tool to raise awareness on the importance of soils, engage citizens, create knowledge, and develop solutions for restoring soil's health and functions. Research and innovation are crucial to better understand, monitor and measure the specific effects of agricultural and forestry activities on soils and ecosystems functions. Transfer of knowledge and know-how are required to improve soil biological, chemical, and physical properties. Outstanding and breakthrough ideas are essential for achieving the objectives

<sup>13</sup> https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/budget-may2018-research-innovation\_en.pdf

#### **Figure 1.**

*EU framework programmes budget evolution.*

of the European Green Deal, which is a set of policy initiatives of the European Commission with the overarching aim of making Europe climate neutral by 2050.

Horizon Europe is presently, the European Union's flagship Research and Innovation programme, part of the EU-long-term Multiannual Financial Framework with a budget of €95,5bn to spend over seven years (2021–2027). Previously, technological development and innovation in ERA have been carried out under the scope of project calls launched during the period 2014–2020 in the frame of Horizon 2020 (H2020). Indeed, one of the identified challenges of this H2020 program was named: "Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water Research and Bioeconomy". To achieve the objectives highlighted in this challenge, the European Commission, provided a budget of around 3.7 billion euros, out of which at least 1.5 billion euros were dedicated to carrying out research projects in agriculture and forestry.

Besides, during the H2020 8FP soils were the target of increasing political attention at European and global levels. The United Nations declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils, while the International Union of Soil Sciences at the Vienna Soil Declaration on Dec. 7th of 2015 proclaimed that 2015–2024 would be the International Decade of Soils.

In this context, and due to the serious environmental problems caused by the continuous use of Cu-derived phytosanitary products for decades, several projects to decrease/substitute Cu use in agriculture, have been granted within 7FP or 8FT (H2020).


*Alternatives to CU Applications in Viticulture: How R&D Projects Can Provide Applied… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100500*

**Table 1.**

*Projects funded by European Commission aimed at promoting organic agriculture.*

**Table 1** highlights some of them, as well as their executions, which started in 2012. Besides the Framework Programmes, European Union (EU) has other instruments to fund projects with high impact on Regional development like Interreg programme, which supports cooperation across borders through project funding. The main aim of Interreg is to jointly tackle common challenges and find shared solutions in fields such as health, environment, research, education, transport, sustainable energy and more.

**COPPEREPLACE** [54] project, co-founded by the Interreg SUDOE programme, aims to develop and validate a series of integrated, innovative, and viable solutions to reduce the use of Cu and its environmental impact in vineyards. The solutions promoted within the project will be transferable and durable to allow the wine sector complies with the new European legislation and to promote environmentally sustainable production. **COPPEREPLACE** is led by the Wine Technology Platform (PTV) and has an international consortium comprised of Spanish, French and Portuguese entities: the Associaçao para o Desenvolvimento da Viticultura Duriense (ADVID), Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin (IFV), Sogrape Vinhos, Centro de Valorización Ambiental del Norte (CVAN), Vignerons Bio

Nouvelle-Aquitaine (SVBNA), Eurecat, Família Torres, University of Porto and its Sustainable Agrifood Research Centre-GreenUPorto (Portugal), University of Vigo and Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Spain), LBS (Gérard Bertrand) and Jean Leon. In addition, the consortium has the support of Artica Ingeniería y Innovación (artica+i) consultancy. **COPPEREPLACE** will create a network of stakeholders that includes wine growers and other representatives of the international grape and wine-growing sector.

**NOVATERRA** project, funded by EC H2020 [55] with the main objective of reduction of the use and impact of pesticides used in Mediterranean vineyards and olive groves, while maintaining sustainable yields and quality of final products. Three are the pillars to achieve the goals: new natural plant protection products, smart farming techniques, (which include optimized spray applications, early detection of symptoms, decision support systems, and robotics) and soil management practices, enhancing functional biodiversity. These three pillars are being tested and analyzed in case of studies through Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal, under different conditions. Results will be analyzed by cost–benefit and impact analysis, final users' acceptance and adoption, consumers' willingness to pay, and validated by multidisciplinary stakeholders. Finally, new Integrated Pest Management strategies will be designed and disseminated aiming to reduce the environmental and health-related damages of food production.

The general objective of the H2020 **RELACS** project [56] is to foster development and facilitate the adoption of cost-efficient and environmentally safe tools and technologies, to phase out the dependency on and use of contentious inputs in organic farming systems. It is expected that the know-how generated under **RELACS** project will reduce the use of Cu and mineral oil, manure from conventional farms. As part of project deliverables, reports/technical descriptions defining alternatives to excessive use of anthelmintics in small ruminants, to reduce antibiotic use in dairy cattle, and moderate reliance on synthetic vitamins in cattle and poultry production were planned.

As it was mentioned in the previous sections, agricultural and horticultural industries need a way of dealing with fungal infections in non-chemical ways. The EU-funded **BioAvenger** [57] project begun the development of such an alternative. The project's prototype of the same name is a bio-fungicide for soil treatment. According to the project consortium, **BioAvenger** combated fungal infection in plants in a natural way. The product could be applied as either a cure or a preventative treatment. Obtained results demonstrated that in case the crop plants were sick, use of the treatment improved health within a month. Usual dosing over several months resulted in the eradication of over 90% of the invading fungi and up to 50% more plant growth. Unfortunately, the product is not yet developed or available in the market.

**ProEcoWine** project [58] set out to develop a novel, nutrient-enriched bio fungicide to combat common grapevine fungal diseases. Project partners successfully cultivated several microalgae species against downy mildew and Botrytis under different conditions. They screened the strains for antifungal activity and identified the two most capable microalgae strains with over 90% fungicide efficiency. The two strains and their antifungal activity were validated in a series of greenhouse and field experiments. The project team developed effective and economically viable methods for high microalgae density growth. They scaled up the production, processing, and storage of microalgae formulations for application as a fungicide. Researchers evaluated downstream methods required to activate microalgae antifungal activity to determine the most cost-effective process for product manufacturing. They established the ideal formulation of microalgae concentrate, resulting in products with enhanced

*Alternatives to CU Applications in Viticulture: How R&D Projects Can Provide Applied… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100500*

shelf life. It is forecasted that thanks to **ProEcoWine**, the innovative microalgae plant protection product will increase vineyard productivity by up to 30%, and decrease production costs per unit by up to 20%. This in turn will increase the competitiveness of EU wines and support the development of organic markets. The antifungal activity of the developed products was monitored and showed that the **ProEcoWine** products fully inhibited the presence of pathogens and had no adverse effect on plants (phytotoxicity).

The **MicroWine** [59] network was created to train a new generation of researchers with the aim to develop tools and gather knowledge for a modern DNA-based approach to European winemaking. It is expected that specialized scientists will transfer their knowledge to decrease the amount of Cu used in agriculture.

Investigations carried out under this project allowed uncovering microbial contributions to several phases of winemaking, from microbial influence on plant health to the microbial role in fermentation processes and influence on wine aroma and sensory perception and, seasonal microbial dynamics on grapevine leaves under biocontrol and Cu fungicide treatments [60].

The aims of the **DROPSA** [61] project was to developing reliable, robust, and cost-effective approaches to protect the major European fruit crops from *Drosophila suzukii*, and quarantine pathogens *Pseudomonas syringae pv*. *actinidiae* (Psa), *Xanthomonas fragariae* (Xf) and *Xanthomona arboricola pv. pruni* (Xap). They are identified as major phytosanitary risks and pose significant challenges to fruit production. The project consortium reported that pests and pathogens cause losses to the EU fruit industry of €10 billion and 3 million tons of produce. **DROPSA** addressed Cu problems advancing options beyond those currently available in the market according to secure food production lines in the EU.

From Greece and Spain to Germany and Romania, Europe already enjoys a strong winemaking tradition with a remarkable variety of flavors and bouquets. Nevertheless, modern winemakers generally use commercially available yeast and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) starter kits, leading to more homogenous European wines. One way to return to regionally distinct wines is by using locally occurring yeast and LAB species to create 'wild-ferment' terroir wines. With this in mind, the **WILDWINE** [62] project investigated regional microbial diversity to develop original starter cultures that can be used to make such unique wines. During the project, scientists analyzed several dozens or hundreds of *Saccharomyces* and *non-Saccharomyces* strains and a few tens of *Oenococcus* and non-*Oenococcus* bacteria. One of the project objectives was to investigate how the presence of Cu could influence fermentation processes.

The **CO-FREE** [63] project aimed to develop innovative methods, tools, and concepts for the replacement of Cu in European organic agriculture (grapevine, potato and tomato) production systems. The project promotes alternative compounds and, 'smart' application tools for integrating them into traditional and novel Cu-free crop production systems. Some strategies were identified to develop 'smart' breeding goals through crop ideotypes and by, fostering the acceptance of novel disease-resistant cultivars by consumers and retailers. The innovations and production systems were evaluated in a multi-criteria assessment concerning agronomic, ecological, and economic performance. In **CO-FREE** a total of 17 alternative compounds were studied for which modes of action, formulations, and application strategies were explored in the lab and field. As a major success of this project, one active substance was approved and included in the EC regulation 1107/2009, with other five dossiers submitted or being studied due to the efficacy of three additional alternative compounds, but additional R&D is still necessary. Most **CO-FREE** candidates exhibited safe ecotoxicological profiles in detailed studies on non-target organisms (beneficial arthropods, aquatic and soil indicator organisms). Costs for registration, however, are high and require a substantial initial investment by small or medium enterprises (SMEs). This means that considering that (i) Cu has broad-spectrum activity, (ii) it is unlikely that only one compound isolated will have the potential to completely replace Cu in all crops, (iii) the alternative compounds, at the best, will have similar efficacy as Cu, and (iv) the new compounds have to remain effective over time, several different candidate compounds are likely necessary to further reduce/replace Cu. **CO-FREE** has thus, contributed strongly with several candidate compounds with a technology readiness level of 8, which provided the foundation for the development of new products for the market.

**INNOVINE** [64] project globally led to a better understanding of the impact of vineyard practices and various abiotic stresses on grapevine physiology and berry composition in the context of climate change. The development of two grapevine models allowed us to simulate and predict those impacts in various climatic scenarios. Further models' implementation had to be addressed, taking into account differential impacts on different genotypes. Methods for screening germplasm for plasticity or for identifying key molecular pathways of adaptation to stress were proposed. Several non-destructive phenotyping tools based on fluorescence, reflectance, thermal imaging and or, hyperspectral imaging were experimented and validated in several work packages of **INNOVINE** to monitor the physiological status of the canopy, as well as the berry content or the onset of downy mildew attacks. Researchers from different scientific areas developed a foreground that allowed them to carry out strategies for sustainable control of diseases in the vineyards. The most important level for the diminution of pesticides was found to be the use of resistant varieties. A very important effort was carried out for the screening of yet uncharacterized germplasm collections for resistance to diseases and was made available through publication in papers and the European Vitis Database. However, it was also shown that the populations of downy and powdery mildews could slowly adapt to resistant varieties and overcome these resistances. The current disease models were improved to consider grapevine physiology and genetic diversity. Finally, **INNOVINE** showed that canopy management practices impact the berry size and therefore, the *Botrytis* incidence.
